Burr comments generate national buzz

Published: Friday, April 17, 2009 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, April 16, 2009 at 8:53 p.m.

Remarks that U.S. Sen. Richard Burr made to Hendersonville business leaders Monday night have taken on a life of their own.

Emphasizing how precarious the banking situation was last fall, Burr told an audience at the Chamber of Commerce that he called home and advised his wife to withdraw as much cash as she could from ATM machines.

“Tonight, I want you to go to the ATM machine, and I want you to draw out everything it will let you take. And I want you to go tomorrow, and I want you to go Sunday,” he said in remarks recorded by a Times-News reporter. “I was convinced on Friday night that if you put a plastic card in an ATM machine, the last thing you were going to get was cash.”

Picked up Tuesday by the Hill, which covers congressional news, the comments ricocheted around the political blogosphere. Liberal MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow displayed text of Burr’s remark on her show Wednesday night and brought on a Democrat to react.

The News & Observer published a story about the comment Thursday at www.newsobserver.com/politics/story/1487625.html.

“I was just shocked,” N.C. Democratic Party chairman David Young of Asheville told the N&O. “It’s really not much of an economic recovery plan to tell your wife to pull money from the bank.”

A Burr spokesman told the N&O the quote was misconstrued.

“The senator is simply trying to express what was on his mind as Congress was attempting to respond to the financial crisis last fall,” spokesman David Ward said.

Chamber President Bob Williford told the Raleigh newspaper that the speech — including the anecdote — was well-received.

“I think he was just trying to convey how critical things were at that point in time,” he said. “He was explaining why Congress reacted as quickly as it did on those issues. ... I didn’t take it as any kind of a selfish move.”

Banking experts say there was no logical reason to take out cash during last fall’s banking troubles.

At the time, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. insured deposits up to $100,000 per customer. (The cap has since been raised to $250,000.) And most banks limit the amount you can withdraw at an ATM each day to $300 or $400.

Henderson County Republican Party Chairman Robert Danos said the story has been overblown by a liberal TV network.

“The alliance between MSNBC and the Democrats was on full view in their recent misuse of a story on Sen. Richard Burr published in the Times-News,” he said in an e-mail.

“Many Americans took out some extra cash as a common sense precaution during that period. But MSNBC picked the quote up as a ‘new story’ and the N.C. Democratic Party chair was on camera on cue to be ‘shocked,’” Danos said.

<p>Remarks that U.S. Sen. Richard Burr made to Hendersonville business leaders Monday night have taken on a life of their own.</p><p>Emphasizing how precarious the banking situation was last fall, Burr told an audience at the Chamber of Commerce that he called home and advised his wife to withdraw as much cash as she could from ATM machines.</p><p>Tonight, I want you to go to the ATM machine, and I want you to draw out everything it will let you take. And I want you to go tomorrow, and I want you to go Sunday, he said in remarks recorded by a Times-News reporter. I was convinced on Friday night that if you put a plastic card in an ATM machine, the last thing you were going to get was cash.</p><p>Picked up Tuesday by the Hill, which covers congressional news, the comments ricocheted around the political blogosphere. Liberal MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow displayed text of Burr’s remark on her show Wednesday night and brought on a Democrat to react.</p><p>The News & Observer published a story about the comment Thursday at www.newsobserver.com/politics/story/1487625.html.</p><p>I was just shocked, N.C. Democratic Party chairman David Young of Asheville told the N&O. It’s really not much of an economic recovery plan to tell your wife to pull money from the bank.</p><p>A Burr spokesman told the N&O the quote was misconstrued.</p><p>The senator is simply trying to express what was on his mind as Congress was attempting to respond to the financial crisis last fall, spokesman David Ward said.</p><p>Chamber President Bob Williford told the Raleigh newspaper that the speech  including the anecdote  was well-received.</p><p>I think he was just trying to convey how critical things were at that point in time, he said. He was explaining why Congress reacted as quickly as it did on those issues. ... I didn’t take it as any kind of a selfish move.</p><p>Banking experts say there was no logical reason to take out cash during last fall’s banking troubles.</p><p>At the time, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. insured deposits up to $100,000 per customer. (The cap has since been raised to $250,000.) And most banks limit the amount you can withdraw at an ATM each day to $300 or $400.</p><p>Henderson County Republican Party Chairman Robert Danos said the story has been overblown by a liberal TV network.</p><p>The alliance between MSNBC and the Democrats was on full view in their recent misuse of a story on Sen. Richard Burr published in the Times-News, he said in an e-mail.</p><p>Many Americans took out some extra cash as a common sense precaution during that period. But MSNBC picked the quote up as a new story’ and the N.C. Democratic Party chair was on camera on cue to be shocked,’ Danos said.</p>